Saguna sprinted through the Academy grounds, his lungs burning with each breath. The marks on his neck pulsed with urgency, as if warning him that time was running out. Night had fallen completely now, the moon partially obscured by clouds, casting the pathways in shifting patterns of light and shadow.
He couldn't shake the image of Radji's pale face, the dark tendrils wrapping around his body, or Osa's desperate determination as he stayed behind. Five minutes, he had promised. The weight of that promise drove him forward even as his legs threatened to give out.
"Osa, Radji, hold on," he whispered, the words becoming a mantra as he ran.
As he passed the library, he glimpsed movement inside—late-night studiers oblivious to the life-or-death struggle happening in the Tranquility Garden. How strange that just yards away, people continued their normal lives while his world was being torn apart. Was this what it meant to bear the Trifold Seal? To live in a reality that overlapped with others but remained fundamentally separate?
But where should he go? Professor Nyala's classroom was on the other side of the Academy, and he wasn't even certain she would still be there at this hour. The infirmary was closer, but would ordinary healers know how to combat that shadow? The entity was unlike anything Saguna had ever encountered, beyond even the whispers that had haunted him since childhood.
The whispers seemed closer now, clearer, as if the thinning Veil allowed them to reach him more easily.
Danger... darkness feeds... hurry...
For once, Saguna didn't try to block them out. Instead, he focused, trying to glean any guidance they might offer.
Seek the old knowledge... the keepers of memory...
The Department of Historical Practices. Of course. If anyone would know about these shadow entities, it would be Professor Nyala or Master Damian.
As he rounded the corner near the Department of Historical Practices building, Saguna collided with a solid figure, the impact sending him sprawling to the ground.
"In quite a hurry, aren't you, Mr. Taksa?"
Saguna looked up to see Master Damian standing over him, his deep blue robes almost black in the moonlight, silver embroidery gleaming along the edges.
"Please," Saguna gasped, scrambling to his feet. "I need Professor Nyala. Something's attacking Radji in the Tranquility Garden—some kind of shadow with tendrils. Osa's with him, but I don't think they can hold it off much longer."
Master Damian's expression shifted instantly from mild curiosity to grave concern. "A Soul Drainer," he muttered, more to himself than to Saguna. "So it begins earlier than we anticipated."
Without another word, he pressed two fingers to a silver medallion hanging at his neck. The medallion glowed briefly, then dimmed. "Professor Nyala has been notified. She will meet us there."
"Us?" Saguna asked, already turning back toward the garden.
"You don't think I would send you back alone, do you?" Master Damian reached into his robes and withdrew what appeared to be a small glass orb. With a whispered word, the orb filled with silvery light. "Lead the way, Mr. Taksa. Quickly now."
As they hurried toward the garden, Master Damian's face grew increasingly grave. "Tell me exactly what you saw," he demanded. "Every detail matters."
Saguna described the shadow entity as best he could—the tendrils, the dark veins spreading across Radji's skin, the unnatural cold.
"And how did it emerge? Did you see?"
"From the old well," Saguna replied. "The sealed one behind the shrubs."
Master Damian cursed under his breath, an unexpected reaction from the usually composed professor. "The Sorrow Well. It was sealed three centuries ago after the Last Triumvirate's confrontation."
"The Last Triumvirate?" Saguna asked, remembering the statue in the Memorial Hall.
"Yes. They faced something similar to what hunts you now." Master Damian's gaze was distant, as if seeing across time. "The Academy was built here precisely because the Veil is naturally stronger in this location—except around that well. It's a weak point, a scar in reality from an old battle."
"Then why build a garden around it? Why not destroy it entirely?"
"Some things cannot be destroyed, Mr. Taksa. Only contained. The garden itself is part of the containment—the elements in balance help strengthen the seal." Master Damian's expression darkened. "Or at least, they did until recently."
They retraced Saguna's path through the Academy grounds, moving at a pace surprising for the older professor. As they ran, Saguna felt the whispers returning, faint but insistent.
Beware... the Breathless One reaches through the shadows...
"Master Damian," Saguna ventured between labored breaths, "what exactly is a Soul Drainer?"
"A parasite entity," the professor replied grimly. "It feeds on life force—what some traditions call qi or vital essence. They cannot fully manifest in our realm except where the Veil is thin. They are drawn to sources of power, particularly untrained power."
"Like our marks," Saguna realized. "The Trifold Seal."
Master Damian shot him a sharp glance. "So you know that name already. Interesting."
Before Saguna could question him further, they reached the entrance to the Tranquility Garden. The air felt heavy, unnaturally cold. The fountain's usual gentle splashing sounded muffled, as if heard through thick glass.
"Stay behind me," Master Damian ordered, holding the glowing orb higher. Its light seemed to push back the darkness, creating a sphere of silver illumination around them.
They moved cautiously into the garden, the orb's light revealing the scene before them. Near the banyan tree, Osa knelt beside Radji's still form, surrounded by a thin ring of water that seemed to be keeping the darkness at bay. Beyond that protective circle, tendrils of shadow writhed and pulsed, probing for weaknesses.
The Soul Drainer wasn't merely a shadow now—it had substance, a massive hulking form that remained half-hidden in the darkness beyond the well. What they had been fighting were merely its extremities—long, rope-like tendrils that extended from its body. Where the light from Master Damian's orb touched it, Saguna could make out a broad, muscular torso, unnaturally long arms with curved claws, and a head that seemed too large for its body. Its skin appeared both solid and insubstantial, like smoke given temporary form.
"An ancient creature," Master Damian whispered. "They dwell in the spaces between worlds, neither fully spirit nor fully physical. This one is young, still weak—its form unstable. A full manifestation would be..." He trailed off, apparently unwilling to complete the thought.
"Professor!" Saguna called, seeing a figure in purple robes approaching from the opposite entrance. "Over here!"
Professor Nyala moved with unexpected speed for her age, her silver hair streaming behind her as she raced toward them. In her right hand, she held what appeared to be a small lantern that emitted the same unnaturally bright light as Master Damian's orb—not yellow like flame but silvery-white, like concentrated moonlight.
***
Through squinted eyelids, Osa saw Saguna running toward them, followed by tall figures in academic robes.
"Professor Nyala," Osa breathed in relief.
The professor moved with unexpected speed for her age, her silver hair streaming behind her as she raced toward them. In her right hand, she held what appeared to be a small lantern that emitted an unnaturally bright light—not yellow like flame but silvery-white, like concentrated moonlight.
"Stand back!" she commanded as she reached them, raising the lantern higher.
The shadow entity writhed in the strange light, fully retreating toward the sealed well. A harsh, hissing sound filled the air, like water striking hot metal.
Saguna dropped to his knees beside Radji, his hands hovering uncertainly over his friend's still form.
"Is he...?" he couldn't finish the question.
"Alive, but barely," Professor Nyala answered, her eyes never leaving the retreating shadow. "The Soul Drainer has drained him significantly. We need to get him to the infirmary immediately."
She thrust the lantern into Saguna's hands. "Hold this. Keep the light on the shadow. It cannot stand the pure light of the Veil."
Saguna did as instructed, his hands trembling slightly. The shadow continued to retreat, flowing back toward the sealed well from which it had emerged.
Professor Nyala knelt beside Radji, pressing her palms against his chest. She murmured words in a language Osa didn't recognize—guttural yet melodic, ancient-sounding. Her fingertips began to glow with a soft amber light that seemed to sink beneath Radji's skin, temporarily halting the spread of the dark veins.
"This will stabilize him for transport, but it's only temporary," she said. "The damage is extensive."
"What was that thing?" Osa asked, his voice hoarse.
"A Soul Drainer," Professor Nyala replied grimly. "A shadow entity that feeds on life force. They typically cannot cross into our world except when the Veil is thin."
"Like on Wednesdays," Saguna said quietly.
Professor Nyala's sharp gaze fixed on him. "Yes. How did you know that?"
Before Saguna could answer, Radji groaned, his eyelids fluttering. The three dark veins on his skin had begun to fade slightly under Professor Nyala's treatment, but his complexion remained ashen.
"Questions can wait," the professor decided. "Help me lift him. We need to get him to the infirmary before the stabilization wears off."
Master Damian remained behind, placing small crystalline objects at regular intervals around the well. Each crystal began to glow with the same silver light as his orb once placed on the ground.
"A containment ward," Professor Nyala explained, noting Saguna's questioning look. "It will hold for now, but the well must be properly resealed before next Wednesday."